I had been writing to Doc for over a year now and one thing had become apparent to me as I had looked into his case: very few people really understood the unique combination of Adam and Samira Frasch. I asked him to share some of his memories with me.
… because the prosecutor and the media have done such a good job of making it seem like you guys weren’t even happy together, be sure and include in your letters all your best memories of what you and Samira shared so that we can include it in the book. People need to really feel it viscerally that you guys had a love for one another and that she was your life and your love and your soulmate, and that you would have done nothing to harm her.
He replied with the following:
I think that you are so wonderful, understanding and considerate for telling the story of Samira and my relationship and the good times and romance we had, along with creating two beautiful daughters who were loved and made our family complete. All couples have problems, but some persevere and some do not. Once something tragic happens, to dwell on the negative adds only to hurt and depression.
He had already shared many memories with me and I went back through the letters to find some of them.
November 21, 2020
… My famous move when I danced with Samira, because she was so light she would lock her arms around my upper biceps and I would lift her off the ground with my arms and then gently turn circles and she would float like a child when you grab their upper arms (not hand or wrists) and spin them around and around and they feel like they are weightless and flying. Until you stop and are both so dizzy you fall down. lol.
When I slowed down, Samira would put her legs around my waist and lock her ankles under my buttocks and let go and lean back knowing I would reach out with just one hand in the middle of her back and hold her straight out and then gently rotate in circles and let go of her back and she would float around and around. When I slowed down, I would reach up under her backside and pull her to my face and she would grab my neck and face and we would passionately kiss while floating in one place until the song ended.
I miss her so much. I'm sorry I am crying huge tears like I was the day she was taken from me and the day of her funeral when I saw her physically for the last time. It took everything within my human power to not fall out and die those 2 days. A part of me did die.
I found a photo of Samira and one of their daughters posted on social media that had been taken by a friend only months before her death and sent it to Doc.
August 17, 2021
Thank you for the picture of Samira holding Hyrah. That is such a wonderful picture and very rare to see a picture of Samira casual and without makeup. Every time I took a picture of Samira she always closed her eyes. I would tease her that if she had done that in front of those meticulous photographers when she was modeling they would have probably come unglued. She said they had cameras that took multiple frames and they were rarely ever taken with her smiling or looking right into the camera. They wanted that distant and seductive stare or look, and sometimes looking down or looking away.
In real life and at home, that picture you sent me is the way Samira would look and be relaxed. She was like me in taking the philosophy that you never get a 2nd chance to make a 1st good impression. She encouraged me to take it to another level and she wanted me representing her and her fashion etiquette. She would always say once we were married that I was representing her as well as me, so I better look good and well groomed and dressed fashionably and matching all the time. She was a helpmate in every sense when it came to making me better and having a better quality of life.
The longest letter sharing his memories of Samira was about their last day together. In the last week of her life, Doc and Samira both had a MRSA infection. This allowed the prosecutor to give the jury the impression that Doc was almost suicidal—unable to take living with Samira anymore—when in fact, it was a simple case of being in physical pain. He shared with me what really went on those last 48 hours together.
I was going to swim in our normally-heated pool but my leg was too sore. I had surgery performed on it the day before by Dr. Frisch in Thomasville GA, and my leg was twice its normal size and red from knee to my toes above and below the wound site. He advised to continue taking the 3 oral antibiotics Samira and I had been taking for days. I had treated Samira the day before the same way on her right gluteal fold (layman’s term for lower butt cheek). I used local anesthetic and had the assistance of my nurse, Linda Duncan. I even kissed her boo boo after the procedure to show her I loved her and she got special treatment as my "Special and Spoiled" patient and wife. Also, it embarrassed her with the a__kissing more than having to show her backside to her friend and my nurse, Linda.
I had to take Skynnah, our 10-month old baby, to the Pediatric Center across the street to have a follow up urinalysis for MRSA urinary track infection. She was clearing up after just finishing up her oral antibiotics she had been on for 2 weeks. That is most likely how we got our infections, from her and changing her diapers.
Doctor Peralta's nurse performed catheter for the urine sample on poor little Skynnah. I assisted and comforted her while firmly holding her still, during this painful procedure. Then loved her up after that traumatic event for the 2nd time in 2 weeks. I hated doing this. My own children’s suffering broke my heart. I could treat patients and other people’s children as a doctor, even if it meant inflicting some pain for the ultimate goal of preventing more pain and curing them. Samira would leave the treatment room and stay in the waiting room; she could not stand to see the babies go through painful procedures. Even when they had their baby shots I had to take them and assist.
I wanted Samira to sleep in that morning, but Hyrah woke up when I came home with breakfast from a local restaurant and we all had our usual breakfast in bed. I only worked Monday through Wednesday and had Thursday through Sunday off. I started that 10 years earlier after I met Samira, so that I could be with her and after we married could enjoy our beach home in Panama City Beach and travel to meet each other.
We talked after breakfast. I recommended both of us resting as our doctor had ordered. The most frustrating thing I found out being a doctor, when you treat family and friends they usually don't want to listen to you, especially strict orders, because they think of you as Adam and not as Dr. Frasch. She said she was feeling better since I had performed the surgery on her backside and was getting house-itis/stir crazy from being in bed for 4 days. I told her I did not feel good, running a fever and that my leg was killing me. She said that I would be fine, like her, now that I had the surgery on my leg. My infection and wound was 10 times worse than hers and I continued to work 3 days and take care of her and the babies. I really should have taken a week off and been in the hospital on IV antibiotics looking back on it. The average person would have gone to the ER and been admitted to the hospital.
My doctor warned me the day before to go home, stay in bed, elevate my left leg above my heart and stay off of it. He warned me, knowing me as a friend, that if he called my office and I was seeing patients he would have me admitted to the hospital, or more likely, committed to the psych hospital. lol
I told her this and she smiled and used some persuasion to entice me to change my mind.
After I helped her bathe our girls and get them dressed, she also wanted me to catch Bella, our miniature Bichon Frisé dog (her 3rd spoiled baby) and put her in her carrier. She said she needed to go to the groomer. She missed the last 2 weeks because we had been out of town traveling, sick with MRSA and unable. Samira wanted the dog to be groomed and beautiful, clean, with a bright white coat and little fashion bows with bling Swarovski crystals on her head and matching collar. The poor dog had to go to the groomers sometimes several times a week just to be bathed and whitened with special shampoo and conditioners because she got a little dirty. Samira was meticulous about her fashion designer dog and our 3 Bengal cats. She always wanted them clean and groomed to be around our girls and the many cute pictures/photo shoots and video crew sessions with our pets.
As usual, to catch her I had to chase the little precious Speedy Gonzalez around the screened-in pool enclosure. I had to step in the pool and snatch her as she ran to the pool edge and tried to go between my legs. It's amazing how they can sense when it’s time to go to the vet/groomers and evade you with a "Catch Me If You Can" routine.
Samira was getting herself and the girls ready when she noticed that her most prized possession in all of the world, her Roberto Cavalli purse, was missing from her collection in her closet.
She realized looking through her closet that more items had been stolen—over $100,000 worth. But that sentimental missing purse had her more upset than anything else. I was doing everything in my power to console her and try and calm the hurt and the storm I knew was brewing.
I told her the most likely person who stole her items was Gerald Gardner because he was the only one with access to our house and he was a thief and had stolen my items many times and she had not let me confront him or report it to the police. I asked her if she was sure she had not left the purse in Miami the week before or 2 weeks prior in Las Vegas when we were on vacation. She was positive she did not and that they were recently stolen.
I told her we needed to call the police and make a theft report. She said she did not want to do that. She wanted us to find her items and get them back. She was frantic and worried that other property and fashion items may have been stolen from our other home and my office in Thomasville, Georgia and our beach house in Panama City Beach, Florida. So we loaded up the girls and Bella in her little pink and gold custom doggie carrier.
We took Bella by 3 different groomers and it’s the first time that they were all booked up and could not work her in. I knew there was a groomer in Thomasville, and we could eat at one of our favorite restaurants, Jonah’s. And we could check my office and our home there to make sure none of her or my items at those properties had been stolen.
We drove to Thomasville Friday Feb. 21st at 10:00 AM. We went by our house and everything seemed to be in order, but the dog groomers was closed for a family emergency. Then we went to eat at Jonah’s and had a wonderful lunch. From there we went to my medical office. The office was closed since I let my staff off on Friday afternoons at noon.
I took the girls to my toy basket I have for my children patients and they got to pick one toy and one piece of candy—candy allowed with parent’s permission, of course. Both of them also received exam gloves blown up like balloons and I drew funny cartoon faces on them like I do for all my paediatric patients.
I then changed my bandage of the wound on my leg. I removed my iodoform packing and my wound and swelling was 10 X the size of Sam's so I had to repack it and that was painful and then redress the bandage on my left leg. It was still red hot and swollen but a 10% improvement from surgery of incision and drainage the day before, and I was taking the same meds as Sam along with Extra Strength Tylenol for pain and fever that was down.
When we left Thomasville and returned to Tallahassee at around 1 PM, I was driving Samira’s Hummer and I noticed the SES (Service Engine Soon) light was on although it was running fine and there were no issues, but she wanted the repair shop to check it out.
The missing purse was still an issue. The only thing I could do was agree to go where Samira wanted and try to make sure nothing else had been stolen and reassure her that I would do everything in my power to find who had stolen it and get it and the other items replaced or have the insurance company replace them.
She wanted to go to Panama City Beach to our beach house and check on our personal items there. Also, she wanted to go by our other house in Tallahassee that was empty but that we used to store items and some of my cars and high end bikes and toys like go-carts and drones. And future Christmas gifts.
We went by our home at Golden Eagle and dropped Bella off, non-groomed, non-bathed. We transferred the car seats to a rental SUV I still had from our trip to Miami the weekend before, got some items for the girls and changed their diapers and I put plenty of food out for the Bengal cats and for Bella, as well as packing some luggage for Panama City Beach because it was Friday and I wanted to stay there and relax.
We then headed to the repair shop to drop off Samira’s Hummer. They told us the SES light was caused by a fuel system air leak problem. The seal around her gas cap was missing. They didn’t have the gas cap O ring and said they would have to order one and that it would be $300. I knew they were no more than $20 and declined but asked if we could leave the Hummer there and pick it up later. They said yes and charged me a diagnostic fee.
We stopped by our Lennox Mill house to make sure nothing was stolen. But Samira found a Valentine’s Day gift from Victoria’s Secret that I had bought for her and left in one of my vehicles. Unfortunately, we had been unable to stop there to pick it up the weekend before on our way to Miami when I wanted to surprise her with it. We had been heading down to Miami for a concert and a weekend at Fontainebleau in South Beach.
On the drive to Panama City Beach, she told me how much she needed to get her purse back and find out who had taken it. I told her that it had to be someone that we knew and that would have access to it. I asked her if Gerald had been at the house working because we had agreed not to have him work for us anymore because he was a thief and untrustworthy. Unfortunately, it came out later that Gerald had been at our place earlier that week.
When we arrived at the Panama City Beach house, Samira went right in and went through the house looking for her purse. My leg was sore and I had to get the girls out of their carseats. Also I said hi to the neighbours. Samira had gone straight into the beach house and did not even say hi or acknowledge them.
Despite this, we were getting along better than any other time of our entire marriage. That was never brought out at the trial or in any of the media outlets. On the way to Panama City Beach I had been really trying to comfort her and tell her, like I said, that her purse and jewelry and personal items had to have been stolen by someone who knew us or had access to her closet or knew how to get in the house by avoiding the security system. About 6 months earlier her and her lawyers took the hard drive out of the security system substation/computer from ADT. All of the cameras and the security system still functioned flawlessly, there was just no recording backup intact.
I hit a nerve when I told her that the theft of her precious items had to be by someone close to us and that Gerald was the prime suspect. On the drive there, we had talked about how I missed her when she was out of control and we were separated 6 months earlier which had given Gerald more opportunities to steal from us with the two of us both not being there to keep an eye on things.
I got the girls inside the house and was changing diapers and trying to get Hyrah situated. She went right for her toys and going upstairs to see what Samira was doing. Shortly Samira came downstairs and questioned me where some of my shoes that were still in boxes and new clothes in my closet upstairs came from and I told her I had purchased them when we were separated, and when she would throw her little fits I would retreat to my dog house, the beach house, and treat myself to new clothes and shopping to pass the time and to replace some of the clothes I left at our main house.
Samira said she was ready to go. I asked her to spend the night and I had errands to run the next day and my leg was killing me and I had to prop it up on the way to Panama City Beach, but now after being up on it for a short while taking care of the girls and chasing Hyrah around and playing with her my leg was throbbing and my bandage needed changed because drainage was coming through to the outer coban flexible self adherent bandage. She was unconcerned and made the comment that now all the other properties were secure she was going to find out who stole her valuable items and we needed to return to Tallahassee right then and now.
So I loaded up the girls again and our day bags, and a few items from the beach house that I had purchased and Samira wanted back in Tallahassee and Hyrah and Skynnah wanted a few of their toys to go along for the trip to keep them occupied. I was leaving down the street and forgot that I did not get the mail and backed up and got out to get the mail because it was on Samira's side of the vehicle. She never got the mail. That was the man’s job in France if you had a man/husband. The mail box was jam packed and some of the mail I knew was junk mail from casinos and had fancy envelopes I let Hyrah open and act like she was big to have mail. I always did that for my children when they were little and let them think they had mail all the time because I got loads and loads of cool junk mail with keys, and scratch off winning and crazy looking free winnings at the casinos and when we redeemed them on occasion I would give them the prize and/or money and they thought they had really received something extra special. lol I miss those times.
Ok now before I forget, a neighbor or someone renting one of the houses down the street told the police that I was behaving mysteriously, because I was driving up and down the street sporadically. See how people lie and try and cause drama? I just backed down the street to get mail.
Now we started our drive back to Tallahassee, I politely asked Samira if we could take a break and eat at one of our favorite restaraunts. She said “NO, I need to find my purse and my things and if you don't want to help I will leave you and the babies here at the beach house and you can do your F___ing errands that are so more important than me.” I apologized and told her I would do whatever it took to find her things even if I had to search the whole planet, but she would only find them if she found the thief that took them.
